Mercosur Secretary General Samuel Pinheiro Guimaraes resigned to his post in the midst of the Mendoza summit following a strong exchange with the group of Foreign Ministers, indicated reports from Buenos Aires.

Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay made official on Friday the temporary suspension of Paraguay from Mercosur, because of the ‘summary’ removal of President Fernando Lugo and at the same time announced Venezuela will be incorporated to the group on July 31 at a meeting in Rio do Janeiro.

Mercosur will not impose economic sanctions on Paraguay despite concerns over the ousting of the country's president, officials said on Thursday evening at the summit taking place in Mendoza, Argentina.

Besides the Mercosur summit, the Argentine city of Mendoza will also be hosting on Friday an emergency meeting from the Union of South American nations to discuss Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo’s swift removal and replacement by a government which has triggered strong resistance in the continent.

Argentina's government is sticking to its 5.1% growth forecast for 2012 enshrined in the budget, Economy Minister Hernan Lorenzino said on Thursday, despite recent data that shows a sharp deceleration.

Ahead of a regional meeting on Paraguay, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on all concerned to “work in the days ahead to ensure the peaceful resolution of differences” which led to the removal of the Paraguayan president.

Uruguay’s government is going forward with plans to build its first deepwater port along the Atlantic coastline in a place called “La Angostura”, an investment estimated in over 700 million dollars and which it wants to use as a platform to begin exporting iron-ore to China.